In Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

By equal measures visually compelling , thrilling and very funny, Star Trek Into Darkness is also possessed with an air of the faintly clunky that, barring a classy opening, undermines a lot of the jeopardy.

These minor flaws arise from a script that, although light and full of humor, has a whiff of predictability that removes a lot of danger from proceedings.  It's difficult to engage when it never really seems the characters are truly in peril. That being said, when it boils down to it those end up being relatively minor quibbles and there is far more to enjoy here than not.

The cast are all on great form and share an easy chemistry. Particular kudos to Chris Pine as Kirk who has more to do this time round and continues to make the role his own; and also to Zachary Quinto as a surprisingly comic, Sheldon Cooper-esque Spock. 

Top marks, predictably, must go to Benedict Cumberbatch though as the mysterious John Harrison who steals the show with a difficult villain and a couple of great monologues. It's a shame that he didn't have more to do.

Elsewhere, Michael Giacchino continues to impress with a rousing score that undercuts the action perfectly, and the superlative visual effects from ILM gives the action a real dynamism.

There is also much here for the old school Trekkies, with plenty of fun references to the classic films, especially a tricky third act which reignites flames from a much earlier tale to enjoyable and surprising effect. Spot the Tribble.

In all then, although the characters never really seem vulnerable, it's nearly impossible not to be won over by the sheer razzle dazzle of it all. Abrams snappy visual style, the endearing performances and the impressive action keep the film near the top of the blockbuster pile. Nice work.

4/5

*This review was originally written for York Vision

In Review: Epic

EPIC (2013) 

Director Chris Wedge has previous form in animated family fair with the original Ice Age proving he can provide amiable characterisation with good thrills. Here, however he falls short of his own high watermark. 

Epic stars Amanda Seyfried as MK, an isolated teen magically shrunk down to tiny proportions and forced to take part in a battle between good and evil in a magical forest behind her back garden. 

The tiny people in the forest idea is a compelling one, as is the journey of the hero. In fact, there's no shortage of tried and tested ideas here that should work but don't And therein lies the problem. The crammed script jumps from one half baked idea to another making it difficult to get a real grasp on anything much at all. It's like it was cobbled together from a million other decent ideas and, as such, ultimately ends up being less than the sum of its parts.  

The voice cast is hit and miss too, with the ever reliable Christophe Waltz nailing it as the sinister baddie Mandrake and Colin Farrel giving good Gaelic as the gruff foot soldier Ronin. Elsewhere though, the blatant stunt casting of Beyonce as the bizarrely sassy Queen is jarring, and the rest just seem to blend into the background.  

On the plus side Wedge is a genuinely skilled filmmaker, and as such Epic is certainly not short of its fair share of positive attributes. It's truly lovely to look at, with the CGI artists doing a cracking job of oversizing the forest and manufacturing some dazzling  backdrops for a host of surprisingly entertaining and hair raising action sequences. 

And at the end of the day then, it's engaging in parts and offers some decent action but struggles under the weight of too-many-cooks and ultimately ends up being less than the sum of its parts. Adults will probably struggle to find a great deal to write home about, but it's harmless fun for the kids and ultimately that's what matters. 

3/5 

This review was originally written for York Vision

Live Review: The Fall, Fibbers (9/5/2013)

The Fall, Fibbers Thursday 9th May

"My dialogue is fucked" he drones, "I can't string a sentencrrrr.....". Welcome to the wonderful and frightening world of Mark E Smith. Doing the rounds promoting  latest album Re-Mit, notorious post punk outfit The Fall are pretty difficult to judge by normal standards: If any other band did what they do there'd be hell to pay, but then again nobody does. Nobody can.

A notoriously volatile and grumpy performer, Smith delivers a typically ramshackle but surprisingly good spirited performance. All the quirks are out in force, of course: idly twiddling  knobs on amps, confiscating the mic  from keyboardist (and wife) Elana , frequently leaving the stage for long stretches and, most bizarrely returning to duet with a random guy from the audience. It makes for a compelling performance, but what's most surprising is the consistent smile on his face, sharing a laugh or two with the crowd and on more than one occasion standing back to bask as they chant his words back at him. Coupled with a tight and powerful back line, what we have here is a treat of a show.

Although he never actually mentions the new album, new single Sir William Wray is given an airing along with a pick'n'mix of fall perennials. But the real treat is saved for the climax, returning to the stage for two encores with a surprising rendition of classic Mr Pharmacist before a teeth shaking finale of the storming Blindness brings the place down. Stirring stuff.

It's hard to imagine anyone left tonight's gig not smiling, least of all Mr Smith.

4/5

*This review was originally written for York Vision

In Review: Olympus Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Ahh, got to feel bad for those pantomime Jihadists, looks like they may be out of a job. Like the pesky Germans and Ruskies before them, they've finally been usurped as the stock Hollywood villain. Evil North Koreans are on the scene now, and guess what! They're here to slam a big plane into the White House lawn.  

So it comes to pass in Olympus Has Fallen, when recently widowed president Asher (Aaron Eckhart) is taken hostage it's up to generic bodyguard Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) to come to the rescue... But can he save the day?  

Olympus Has Fallen isn't completely terrible. It's maybe 70 or 80 percent terrible. The rest is just incredibly silly, totally implausible and very badly written.

Given his previous form with tense smart actioners, it boggles the mind why director Antoine Fuqua chooses to spend a year labouring over what is effectively a big dumb two hour anti-Korea propaganda video.  

Broad jingoistic  flag waving aside, the film also displays a complete lack of confidence in its audience, subtitling each scene with unnecessary location and character detail and peppering the dialogue with clunky exposition. Lazy.

Some credit to him, Fuqua brings skills to bare in a cloying but unexpected first act and a taut middle section, where a Die Hard-like cat and mouse chase around the crumbling White House gives the wasted Butler a chance to shine. But it's really not enough to redeem the film, especially given the rest of the action has to stand or fall on some truly terrible sub Atari visual effects. 

It's been said that when a film becomes so bad it can actually transcend its own flaws and become good again, and broadly speaking the same could be said of this. Just go into the film expecting a comedy and you might end up having a good laugh. 

1/5

*This review was originally written for York Vision